Good general reviews of SPECIAL RELATIVITY (Topics H1 to H6) I used these when preparing lecture notes - do not always match IB syllabus and maybe a little more (or less) than what is required. All are basically power point lecture notes (but in different formats). Please rate these reviews by adding comments after the links.
Review 1 (pdf file, covers all the special relativity stuff but in slightly different order. Only a little of the content is beyond the scope of the syllabus)
Review 2 (pdf file, very similar to the above resource but follows the path we took in class a bit more closely)
Review 3 (flash powerpoint presentation - need Flash 10, can't watch from my classroom computer)
Here is a nice link to a number of useful relativity topic pages from Andy Gregory, a UK physics teacher.
Dr Leonard Susskind from Stanford talks about Special Relativity and why Galilean transformations break down, Maxwell's dilemma, etc in this engaging lecture. It is long, much is beyond the IB syllabus. I watched the first 40 minutes and really enjoyed it. After that, it gets pretty intense.
H2 Concepts and Postulates of Special Relativity
Quick summaryof the path to Einstein's discovery (includes Michelson - Morley)
Inertial frame of reference
Two postulates of Special Relativity (from Giancoli, 5th ed.)
First postulate (the relativity principle): The laws of physics have the same form in all inertial reference frames Second postulate (the constancy of the speed of light): Light propagates through empty space with a definite speed (c) independent of the speed of the source or observer.
Simultaneity (this is a great video - the one shown in class)
Key concept "time is not absolute for observers in different inertial reference frames"
Light clocks and the time dilation derivation
The Light Clock - a decent explanation of the basis of the light clock, and how it functions. I showed these videos as an introduction to the moving light clock thought experiment that leads to the derivation of the time dilation formula.
Time dilation derivation (step by step - this guy has a sense of humor) - this video covers pretty much everything in the first packet of class notes (up to but not including length contraction - yes stuff gets shorter, not the syllabus though).
Here is another video (I did not embed this one because it is BORING) that you might find useful to understand the**time dilation derivation**
"During October, 1971, four cesium atomic beam clocks were flown on regularly scheduled commercial jet flights around the world twice, once eastward and once westward, to test Einstein's theory of relativity with macroscopic clocks. From the actual flight paths of each trip, the theory predicted that the flying clocks, compared with reference clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory, should have lost 40+/-23 nanoseconds during the eastward trip and should have gained 275+/-21 nanoseconds during the westward trip ... Relative to the atomic time scale of the U.S. Naval Observatory, the flying clocks lost 59+/-10 nanoseconds during the eastward trip and gained 273+/-7 nanosecond during the westward trip, where the errors are the corresponding standard deviations. These results provide an unambiguous empirical resolution of the famous clock "paradox" with macroscopic clocks."
J.C. Hafele and R. E. Keating, Science 177, 166 (1972)
Twin Paradox - The explanation from Hewitt (Conceptual Physics)
Michelson-Morley experiment This link is to an explanation (you can skip the intro and the math if you are in a hurry) and a flashlet (an animation that allows to show what the result would have been if there was ether). Original apparatus shown below:
Path of light in apparatus
Here is an example problem from an old examination paper - with solutions - to get the "IBO take" on this experiment
This question is about the Michelson-Morley experiment.
The diagram below shows the essential features of the apparatus used in the Michelson-Morley experiment.
A is a half-silvered mirror.
(a) State the purpose of the experiment. to measure the speed of the Earth through the ether / to search for an absolute frame of reference
(b) On the diagram above, draw rays to show the paths of the light from the source that produce the interference pattern seen by the observer.
(c) For part of the experiment, the whole apparatus was rotated though 90°. Explain why. light from the two mirrors will (should) now take different times to reach the observer / OWTTE;
hence there will be a shift in the interference pattern;
(d) Explain the function of the moveable mirror. by moving the mirror (backwards or forwards), any shift in the pattern can be measured
(e) Describe the results of the experiment and explain how the result supports the Special Theory of Relativity. no shift in interference pattern observed; supports the idea that the speed of light does not depend on the speed of the
source/speed of observer/that there is no absolute reference system;
Muon decay experiment
From the University of Virginia a great summary of the light clock (remember the derivation you are responsible for?) and a good summary paragraph on muon decay experiments.
From the University of Georgia (Hyperphysics) muon experiment results explained and an applet that allows you to vary the parameters in your own muon decay experiment. We may use this simulation in class.
Watch this summary after we finish Special Relativity
Good general reviews of SPECIAL RELATIVITY (Topics H1 to H6) I used these when preparing lecture notes - do not always match IB syllabus and maybe a little more (or less) than what is required. All are basically power point lecture notes (but in different formats). Please rate these reviews by adding comments after the links.
Here is a nice link to a number of useful relativity topic pages from Andy Gregory, a UK physics teacher.
H1 Frames of Reference, Galilean Transformations
Relative Velocity ReviewWhat is a frame of reference? What are Galilean transformations?
Dr Leonard Susskind from Stanford talks about Special Relativity and why Galilean transformations break down, Maxwell's dilemma, etc in this engaging lecture. It is long, much is beyond the IB syllabus. I watched the first 40 minutes and really enjoyed it. After that, it gets pretty intense.
H2 Concepts and Postulates of Special Relativity
Quick summaryof the path to Einstein's discovery (includes Michelson - Morley)Inertial frame of reference
Two postulates of Special Relativity (from Giancoli, 5th ed.)
First postulate (the relativity principle): The laws of physics have the same form in all inertial reference frames Second postulate (the constancy of the speed of light): Light propagates through empty space with a definite speed (c) independent of the speed of the source or observer.
Simultaneity (this is a great video - the one shown in class)
Key concept "time is not absolute for observers in different inertial reference frames"
Light clocks and the time dilation derivation
The Light Clock - a decent explanation of the basis of the light clock, and how it functions. I showed these videos as an introduction to the moving light clock thought experiment that leads to the derivation of the time dilation formula.
Time dilation derivation (step by step - this guy has a sense of humor) - this video covers pretty much everything in the first packet of class notes (up to but not including length contraction - yes stuff gets shorter, not the syllabus though).
Here is another video (I did not embed this one because it is BORING) that you might find useful to understand the **time dilation derivation**
Hafele-Keating Experiment
"During October, 1971, four cesium atomic beam clocks were flown on regularly scheduled commercial jet flights around the world twice, once eastward and once westward, to test Einstein's theory of relativity with macroscopic clocks. From the actual flight paths of each trip, the theory predicted that the flying clocks, compared with reference clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory, should have lost 40+/-23 nanoseconds during the eastward trip and should have gained 275+/-21 nanoseconds during the westward trip ... Relative to the atomic time scale of the U.S. Naval Observatory, the flying clocks lost 59+/-10 nanoseconds during the eastward trip and gained 273+/-7 nanosecond during the westward trip, where the errors are the corresponding standard deviations. These results provide an unambiguous empirical resolution of the famous clock "paradox" with macroscopic clocks."J.C. Hafele and R. E. Keating, Science 177, 166 (1972)
Twin Paradox - The explanation from Hewitt (Conceptual Physics)
twin 1.tiftwin 2.tif
twin 3.tif
twin 4.tif
twin 5.tif
twin 6.tif
twin 7.tif
Evidence for Special Relativity
Michelson-Morley experimentThis link is to an explanation (you can skip the intro and the math if you are in a hurry) and a flashlet (an animation that allows to show what the result would have been if there was ether). Original apparatus shown below:
Path of light in apparatus
Here is an example problem from an old examination paper - with solutions - to get the "IBO take" on this experiment
This question is about the Michelson-Morley experiment.
The diagram below shows the essential features of the apparatus used in the Michelson-Morley experiment.
A is a half-silvered mirror.
(a) State the purpose of the experiment.
to measure the speed of the Earth through the ether / to search for an absolute frame of reference
(b) On the diagram above, draw rays to show the paths of the light from the source that produce the interference pattern seen by the observer.
(c) For part of the experiment, the whole apparatus was rotated though 90°. Explain why.
light from the two mirrors will (should) now take different times to reach the observer / OWTTE;
hence there will be a shift in the interference pattern;
(d) Explain the function of the moveable mirror.
by moving the mirror (backwards or forwards), any shift in the pattern can be measured
(e) Describe the results of the experiment and explain how the result supports the Special Theory of Relativity.
no shift in interference pattern observed; supports the idea that the speed of light does not depend on the speed of the
source/speed of observer/that there is no absolute reference system;
Muon decay experiment
Watch this summary after we finish Special Relativity